Adjustable strike



Jam 2, 1968 F. J. RUSSELL ETAI. 3,361,466

ADJUSTABLE STRIKE Filed sept. 2o, 1966 INVENTORS H0652 J. No4/M BY im URw J.

United States Patent Ofiice 3,361,466 Patented Jan. 2, 1968 3,361,466ADJUSTABLE STRIKE Fred .1. Russell, 8635 Otis St., South Gate, Calif.90281), and Roger J. Nolin, Monterey Park, Calif.; said Nolm assigner tosaid Russell Fned sept. 20, 1956, ser. No. 580,778 4 Claims. (Cl.292-341.18)

ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE An improved adjustable strike device, onemember of which is permanently fastened to the door frame, and a movablemember which can be adjusted relative to the permanent member by asimple screw means without disturbing the permanent member.

The invention here under consideration is a lock accessory attached tothe door frame and directly associated with the operation of a doorlock. The hardware is cornmonly identified in the trade as a strike.'0neof the most common expedients heretofore employed as a strike hasconsisted of a simple plate having a strike lip on one side and ausually rectangular hole in the plate, said hole being designed toreceive the latch Ibolt. Customarily, a hole is chiseled in the doorframe to coincide With the hole in the strike, the strike being mountedupon the door rframe with Wood screws. i i

When a strike of this type is mounted upon the frame by the averageworkman, it is not always possible on each and every occasion to preparethe hole and fasten the strike with the desired degree of accuracy. Whenthis happens, the location of the strike must be readjusted, sometimesonly a slight amount, and this usually means resetting the screws. Ifthe adjustment is one of only a small fraction of an inch, it is notalways possible to make new screw holes at a new location close to theold ones without having the screws slip back into the original,erroneous location, unless some time-consuming operation, such asfilling the original holes, is resorted to.

On `other occasions, even though the strike is properly located in thefirst instance, the door or the frame may Warp or settle slightly,sufi'icient to misalign the strike with the lock. Again, readjustment byslight increments del velops the same difculties as has been notedabove.

1t is therefore yone of the objects of the invention to provide a newand improved strike with an adjustable latch bolt retaining element.

Still another object yof the invention is to provide a new and improvedstrike with an adjustable latch bolt retaining surface which can be-readjusted without disturbing the position of the strike on the doorframe.

Still further among the objects of the invention is to provide a new andimproved adjustable strike device, one member of which is permanentlyfastened to the door frame, and the other member of which can beadjusted relative to the first member at any time and Without disturbingthe :permanent location of a first member, the adjustment being madepossibly by simple screw means easily tightened and loosened at will byemployment of a screwdriver, an-d which, once properly tightened,fastens the parts together with a lgreat degree of firmness sufficientto hold the adjustment, despite innumerable openings and closings yofthe door.

Still another object is to provide a new and improved adjustable strikedevice which has a neat, finished appearance, as to those parts exposedto view when in place on the frame, and which has the adjustable partsubstantially concealed, Ibut capable ofadjustment at any time withoutdisturbing the mounting of the exposed part on the lframe.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in theconstruction, arrangement, and combination of the various parts of thedevice, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafterset forth, pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of the device mounted upon a door frame,partially broken away to show the construction.

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the device taken on theline 2--2 of FIGURE 1,.

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional View taken on the lint 3 3 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional View taken on the line 5 5 of FIGURE 1.

For purposes of illustration, the embodiment of the adjustable strikedevice, indicated generally by the reference character 10, is shownmounted upon a frame 11 of a conventional doorway, the frame 11 beingprovided with a rectangular hole `12 yfor reception of the device 10,where it is shown mounted adjacent a stop 13.

The device 10 consists in the main of two members, namely an exterioranchoring member 14 and an interior movable member 15.

The exterior anchoring member 14 consists of a plate element 16,preferably having a smooth, polished finish, so as to neatly cover thehole 12, and resting in Irecesses 17 and 18, so as to be flush with thesurface of the frame l1. The plate element 16 has a strike lip 19 and alatch bolt clearance opening 20 in alignment with the midportion of thestrike lip 19. The latch bolt clearance Opening 21B is madesubstantially oversize relative to the customary conventional latch bolt(not shown), to take advantage of adjustability of the interior movablemember 15. Screws 21 and 22 extending through screw holes 23 and 24respectively in the plate element 16, and through aligned screw holes 25and 26 in a lightweight sheet metal liner 27, fasten the plate element16 to the door frame 11.

The interior movable member 15 includes a crossbar 36 which extendsbeneath the latch bolt clearance opening 2) at a location close to thebottom of the hole 12. Webs 31 and 32 at opposite ends of the crossbar30 terminate in tabs 33 and 34 respectively, the tabs 33, 34 being bentintov parallel relationship with the plate element 16. The tab 33 has anelongated transversely extending hole 35 in alignment with a hole 36 inthe plate element 16 adapted to receive a bolt 37 provided with a nut 38and suitable lock Washers 39 and 39' for securely fastening the interiormovable member 15 in position on the exterior anchoring member 14 whenthe necessary adjustment has been made. A similar bolt 37, nut 38, andwashers 39 and 39' are provided lfor a corresponding hole 35' in the tab34. It will be noted that there is a lock washer located between therespective tabs 33 and 34 and the underside of the plate element 16, asWell as there being a lock washer between the nut 38 in each case andthe adjacent side of the respective tabs 33 or 34. Employment of adouble set of lock washers prevents inadvertent loosening of each bolt37. Each nut 38 is nonrotatable, ibecause of the abutment of thenon-round nut with each web 31.

Also, as part of the interior movable member 15, is a latch boltengaging portion 40 having one end 41 attached to the crossbar 30 andhaving at the other end -a foot piece 42 which is parallel to and inslidable engagement with the underside of the plate element 16. Ifdesired, hole 45 may also be provided in the crossbar 30 for the purposeof providing an engagement means with a tool (not shown), such -as ascrew driver, to facilitate the shifting of the crossbar 30 to thedesired location when the bolts 37 are loosened.

.member transversely until the latch bolt engaging portion 40 is inprecisely the desired position of engagement with the latch bolt, whenthe door is closed. After this has been accomplished, the bolts 37 -aretightened securely, thereby to anchor the interior movable member 15 tothe exterior anchoring member 14. If the adjustment turns out to be notquite right with the first setting, the bolts 37 can be loosened and theinterior movable member 15 readjusted to the necessary extent, afterwhich the bolts 37 are again tightened down.

Should any warping of the frame 11 occur, possibly resulting in -a shiftof the position of the door where it is mounted on the frame 11, causingthe latch bolt to Y shift from a position of proper alignment with theadjustable strike device 10, readjustment can be readily made by againloosening the bolts 37, shifting the interior movable member 15 to a newposition of adjustment and thereafter tightening Vthe bolts 37 to anchorthe interior movable member 15 in the new position of adjustment. Aspreviously noted, by having the interior movable member 15 entirelybeneath and in underlying relationship to the exterior anchoring member14, the exterior of the adjustable strike device 10 always remains aneat, presentable exterior. A desirable degree of ruggedness is builtinto the adjustable strike device 10 by having the length ofthe latchbolt engaging portion 40 at the location of the foot piece 42 thereonsuch that vthe foot piece 42 is drawn into engagement with the undersideof the plate element 16 when the bolts 37 are tightened in position.

While the invention has herein been shown and described in what isconceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it isrecognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of theinvention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein,but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace anyand all equivalent devices.

Having described the invention, what is claimed yas new in support ofLetters Patent is:

1. An adjustable strike device for a door frame wherein said frame has alatch bolt hole having a front wall, a back wall and side walls, saidstrike device being adapted to be mounted in said frame and adapted tocooperate with the latch bolt of a lock, said device including ananchoring member adapted to be attached to the frame and a movablemember located entirely in said hole and under the anchoring member andadapted to engage the latch bolt, said anchoring member including aplate element adapted to overlie a portion of the frame, a strike lip onsaid plate element, said plate element having an oversize latch boltclearance opening therein spaced laterally from said strike lip, saidplate element having apertures respectively for fastening screw meansadapted to engage the door fra-me and for adjusting screw means adaptedto engage the movable member, said movable member including a latch boltengaging portion having an extension parallel to the mounting plateforming a foot piece in engagement with the underside of said plateelement, and closing Ya portion of said clearance opening lbetween saidlatch bolt engaging portion and an edge of said clearance openingadjacent Vthe strike lips, and at least one tab parallel to said plateelement, said foot piece being clear of engagement with the frame duringadjustment, said tab having a transversely extending elongated holetherein at a location underlying the respective aperture in the plateelement for said adjusting screw means, said latch bolt engaging portionbeing shifta-ble toward and away from the strike lipwhereby to vary thelocation of the latch boltY engaging portion relative to the position ofthe latch bolt when the latch bolt is extended into said latch bolt`clearance opening.

2. An -adjustable strike device according to claim 1 wherein there aretwo tabs on the movable member on opposite sides of the latch boltclearance opening, each having a transversely extending elongated holefor said adjusting screw means.

3. An adjustable strike device according to claim 1 wherein said movableme-mber has a crossbar spaced from and lying beneath said latch boltclearance opening and said crossbar has ka hole therein for reception ofa pry for shifting the position of the movable member when an adjustmentis to be made.

4. -In an adjustable strike device, according to claim 1,

wherein there is a nut on said adjusting screw means andV at least onelock washer Vbetween the nut and said members.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Y 1,563,667 12/1925 Smith292-341.18 2,678,843 5/ 1954 Steffan 292-341.18 3,257,139 6/1966 Russell292-341.18 3,265,427 8/ 1966 Williams 292-341.18

MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner.

E. I. MCCARTHY, Assistant Examiner.

